EP 1 156 889 B1 discloses a continuous process for manufacturing coating or doctoring blades, which at their working tip are provided with a wear resistant soft or rubbery elastomeric material. The soft or rubbery material at the blade tip is provided using ultra fast-curing elastomeric compositions in a continuous process. The previous problems related to the use of closed moulds for providing the tip material were avoided in a convenient manner by the process disclosed by EP 1 156 889. In short, the process comprised the application of the fast-curing polymer composition by means of a treatment station which was given a relative movement with respect to a blade substrate in the form of a band. The applied composition was then allowed to spread out so as to reach the very extreme of the edge of the blade substrate, whereupon the composition was cured to form an elastic and tack-free coating.
The geometrical profile of the applied composition obtained by the above process is determined by the rheological properties and the reactivity of the applied composition, such as flow characteristics, rate of viscosity increase, etc., thus allowing control only of the width of the applied composition. Parameters that could be adjusted were the properties of the polymer composition, the casting output, and the relative speed between the treatment station and the blade substrate.
Although giving some important advantages compared to still older technology, the process of the above '889 patent still require a great deal of post processing, such as cutting, machining, grinding or the like in order to obtain a controlled profile having a constant and well controlled thickness.